Numerical analysis of the unsteady flow in the near-tongue region in a volute-type centrifugal pump for different operating points

An investigation is presented on the unsteady flow behaviour near the tongue region of a single-suction volute-type centrifugal pump with a specific speed of 0.47. For this study, the flow through the test pump, which was available at laboratory, was simulated by means of a commercial CFD software that solved the Navier–Stokes equations for three-dimensional unsteady flow (3D-URANS). A sensitivity analysis of the numerical model was performed in order to impose appropriate parameters regarding grid size, time step size and turbulence model. The predictions of the numerical model were contrasted with experimental results of both global (flow-head curve and static pressure distribution at volute front side) and unsteady variables (unsteady pressure distribution at the volute front side filtered at the blade-passing frequency). Once validated, the model was used to study the flow pulsations associated to the interaction between the impeller blades and the volute tongue as a function of the flow rate, for several flow rates ranging from 20% to 160% of the nominal flow rate. The study allowed relating the blade passage with the pulsations of pressure and tangential and radial velocity at a number of reference locations in the near-tongue region. The numerical model was also used to evaluate the evolution of the leakage flow between the impeller–tongue gap and of the flow exiting the impeller through some specific angular intervals, during one single-blade passage.